China plays important role in forging SCO cooperation for security, prosperity -- Turkish experts

This photo taken on June 12, 2019 shows the Qingdao multimodal transportation center in the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Li Ziheng)

ISTANBUL, July 6 (Xinhua) -- China plays an important role in forging cooperation among Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members for global security and prosperity, said Turkish experts commenting on the 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO.

Stressing "having an open dialogue based on mutual respect and mutual trust is especially important" while the world is going through a turbulent period, former Turkish diplomat and foreign policy analyst Gulru Gezer said that China has been leading the way in ensuring global security and prosperity while building a community with a shared future for mankind.

"We will see in the future that the SCO will continue to broaden its membership and scope because of this basic understanding," the expert said, adding that when countries start the process of joining the SCO, they would know that their opinion actually counts.

"This is one of the most important aspects that makes the SCO unique, and China has been really the forerunner of developing this kind of working relationship with its neighbors and the members of the SCO," Gezer added.

Gezer's view was echoed by Selcuk Colakoglu, director of the Ankara-based Turkish Center for Asia-Pacific Studies.

Speaking highly of China's achievements and contributions to promoting security, Colakoglu said that the SCO has scored "very strong solid achievements" in enhancing border security.

With the steady progress of regional cooperation, the SCO now is a much wider organization, with its member states seeking to further their ties in areas including trade, economy, energy, education, transport as well as culture.

Noting the SCO covers 60 percent of Eurasia and a population of over 3.2 billion, with the GDP of its member states accounting for some one-fourth of the global total, and the number of countries willing to join the SCO on the rise, Gezer said the SCO has successfully transformed into a major regional organization.

The expert also pointed out that the understandings outlined in the Shanghai Spirit, which emphasizes mutual trust, mutual advantage, equality, mutual consultations, respect for cultural variety, and aspiration for joint development, are of great significance.

Colakoglu said diplomatic settlement through negotiations proposed by China plays a vital role in solving regional issues and is the key to addressing bilateral, regional and international disputes.

Gezer said that China's emphasis on enhancing unity and mutual trust, bolstering communication and coordination, supporting each other's development and opposing external interference at the summit demonstrated its willingness to work with all parties to promote the establishment of a fair and more reasonable global governance system.

"There is a focus on mutual cooperation and win-win cooperation and also increasing interactions for peaceful development," Colakoglu said.